Reviews of safaris to Ruaha National Park

"On extra thing we added - we were due back in DAR at 4pm for the KLM flight at 11pm. As check-in wasn't open until 8pm, this gave a bit of a gap to fill. We didn't want to risk the journey to and from a hotel in the city centre, but we did find a relatively new hotel, the "Blue Sapphire" which is 10mins away, on the main airport boulevard, where we freshened up and had a meal before heading back to the airport. I would say it was adequate for this purpose and would be ok for an overnight as well, based on our experience here.

The new international terminal (T3) is coming in to use and although not fully opened, looks like a reasonably standard airport environment, so may be better for hanging about in than T2 was previously." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"We knew this was going to be the trip of a lifetime, but nothing could have prepared us for the experience we had. By the 3rd day we had run out of superlatives and by day 8 we were tongue tied when trying to describe how remarkable the wildlife was, how fabulous the food, how gorgeous the accommodations and how well we were treated. Even now, two months later we have difficulty.

We would not hesitate to use the services of Expert Africa again, in fact we would insist on it for trip planning in that part of the world. We would also insist on having Lyndsey Marris as our personal representative. Lyndsey was outstanding from day one, asking all the right questions about our travel experiences, our wishes, making suggestions before I had a chance to even think to ask, and somehow despite her being in London and our being in the United States we never waited more than 24 hours for an email or telephone response. We don’t know how she managed to work around the time difference, but she did. Her recommendations were spot on and she was flexible with changes; nothing seemed beyond her. We met and formed a friendship with a family from greater London while in Ruaha who had also used Expert Africa and had Lyndsey as their agent and they had the same experience and praise for her as we did.

We were provided with daily itineraries including private drivers, reservations at restaurants, all flight arrangements, hotel and safari camp reservations and accurate information about all of them. In over three weeks of travel there was only one hiccup and that was minor and no doubt precipitated by a flight delay causing us to arrive in Nairobi 2 ½ hours late. The driver who was to have met our flight was not there and we were unsure on how to proceed. As it turned out, a very attentive gentleman had been observing our situation and eventually came over and asked what had happened and it turned out he worked for the same company, Southern Cross Safaris, who was to drive us that day and the next. He took over and got us transported to the hotel and put us back onto our activity schedule to see the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage and the Giraffe Center. The driver from Southern Cross Safaris was delightful and informative and we met him again the last evening of our trip when we came back to Nairobi to fly home. The only adjustment we would make to our stay in Nairobi would be to give up the convenience of an airport hotel for the apparently unique, lovely experience of staying at Giraffe Manor. We didn’t know Giraffe Manor existed so it wasn’t something we asked Lyndsey about, but we really wish it had somehow come up.

I would suggest to anyone going on Safari to stay in multiple camps in diverse geographic areas. Lyndsey gave us a perfect itinerary in the perfect order: Nairobi, Selous, Ruaha, Mara River, Grumeti and finally Mafia Island and a flight home from Nairobi. Each of the areas had its own flora and fauna and special emphasis. Selous is private, no traffic or competition to view the animals, you can go off road, but the animals are very spread out due to its size. You have the opportunity to see the rare wild dog, but fewer cats. Ruaha, on the other hand, is a national park; you cannot go off road, there are many more vehicles, but it is definitely the place for cats. Mara River is all about the wildebeest crossing. It is also a national park. Grumeti is a private paradise in the Serengeti that gives you the absolute best of the best. Mafia Island is an exquisite respite from the “always on alert” feeling of safari.

If you looked on a map you might wonder why we worked from south to north just to fly much further south at the end, but Lyndsey explained her thinking, we took her advice - she was exactly correct. The wildlife built up as did the camps as we went along. Not once did we feel we were taking a back step in the quality of anything. And going on safari is quite tiring despite the fact you are being driven everywhere, so a restful beach idyll at the end is perfect.

We will definitely return to Africa. We would repeat this trip in a heartbeat. In fact this trip was so fantastic it will be difficult to resist literally going back to the same camps, but Africa is huge with so much variety, we will most likely expand our horizons. Where ever it is, Expert Africa will help plan our trip." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 18 on a Tanzania safari

"All went to clockwork, thank you.

One small comment was the times on our itinerary were different to Fisherman’s Tours. As such I thought they were late so rang the number on the itinerary for them to check someone was coming. They did arrive 5-10 minutes later, which was just before 6.30am, the time they had down. We were expecting them at 6am.

They did give us their itinerary with the times, down, but I hadn’t read it prior to the pick up.

The driver informed me I had phoned the general manager of Fisherman’s Tours, not the local office! Perhaps it would be worth checking the numbers on your itinerary which is where I got the number from.

Similarly the pick up from Qambani, was at 5am, not 5.30am as on our itinerary.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip, thank you for the organisation and recommendations. The service was excellent, and everything went fine.
Our only struggle, was with tipping, who and how much ! and not having local currency when we arrived. The porters at Zanzibar are quick to strike on the poor inexperienced traveller!!

We took advice from the Siwandu manager, (who was overall excellent) re tipping the staff, but I probably hadn’t read your comments carefully enough. I think we ended up tipping $4-500 dollars over the trip, which I hadn’t really been expecting, so I guess it would help to give a ball park figure to the client initially.

Thank you Chris for spending so long on the phone with me and Lyndsey for putting it all together." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"We loved our safari holiday - we had a fantastic experience which totally exceeded our expectations. I can't wait to go on another safari.

Thank you so much for arranging such a great holiday." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari

"It was excellent. Our thanks go to Claire Scott who really listened to what we wanted and selected excellent locations for us." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 13 on a Tanzania safari

"We loved our first safari! We had no complaints throughout our trip.

Jessica did a fantastic job planning our itinerary perfectly. She was very responsive to my questions and emails and was so organized.

The Tanzania travel book and leather travel binder were very nice touches. The Nomad camps were first rate, the flights between camps were convenient, and best of all, the people were warm and friendly.

We didn't want our trip to end and definitely want to go back again soon!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Service was impeccable! I'm glad we decided on Expert Africa as you are so organized.

Payment was also very easy on the website." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari

"My wife and I loved every minute of our honeymoon. It could not have been better.

Jessica Plumb listened to what we were after - I preferred more rustic places away from the crowds but close to the wildlife and my wife wanted certain comforts (eg flushing toilets!) - and the camps delivered this perfectly. We both loved it. The order that we did the trip as well was perfect as each camp got better and better along the way as we gradually went more and more remote." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 17 on a Tanzania safari

"Fantastic trip put together on short notice and appreciate the guidance of Richard and others.

I contacted a few other big-name agencies who wanted to provide me with their agenda; Richard listened and put together an agenda for us.

I appreciated the detail in their website and that is what led me to call them (okay, it may be a bit old-fashioned in design, but it is encyclopedic and sometimes that's better than glitz)." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"It was a lovely trip - the highlight was Ikuka which is a simply wonderful place which we cannot recommend enough - Zanzibar was lovely and Breezes was a very good hotel even if the kite surfing was a little disappointing.

The arrangements by Claire at Expert Africa were excellently done and the itinerary was great ( we would never have know of Ruaha without that knowledge). My sister and brother in law have already booked a Namibia trip with you based on our recommendation." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zanzibar holiday

"My overall experience was excellent.

The only thing I wished for was that we would have had a guide and a driver in the safari truck in Kigelia Camp. But Elli did his best to fill in what he could and we still had a good experience.

I have dreamed of coming to see the animals all my life and I wasn't disappointed in any way." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari